Mending Broken Pieces
by L-CH86
Summary: Puck hit his lowest point after being in an accident three years ago, now he is getting divorced and he is trying to put his life back together. Bad Summary. Rated M just to make sure, no smut.
1. Chapter one

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of its characters.

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**Mending Broken Pieces**

Chapter One 

"Hi, I'm Puck and I'm an alcoholic" he said looking over the small crowd that had gathered this Wednesday night in the dusty moldy basement at Lima's church, he had been going for five months now and most of the faces were someone he knew, "I've been sober for three months, twelve days and a couple of hours" he continued looking down while he moved around a little so his beg wouldn't hurt as much, "so this is actually my last meeting in this place, I'm moving this weekend, don't worry I'm still into my recovery and Steve already set me up with someone in New York" he told them with a smirk, "So if you are new to my story let's break it down for you, I started drinking after an accident around three years ago, I was on my way back to Lima on my bike when it happened, it had rained and I went of the road, hit a three and went flying. Next thing I knew I was waking up in a hospital bed almost a month later. I was lucky to survive, but for a while I didn't feel lucky, I was chained to a bed for two months while they did surgery after surgery on my back and leg and when they finally let me out from the hospital I was chained to a wheelchair" he took a short breather, "It took a little over a year for me to start walking again and in that time I developed some bad habits, I had started drinking, beers most of the time, Whiskey on the really bad days. It got worse by time and soon I was sitting in the pub all day and someone had to bring me home. I used alcohol to ease the pain, since my leg never fully did recover, I used tit to feel better about myself, it became my solution for everything, I had to have it"

He had started drinking heavily after the accident, first it was just a couple of beers, then it was more beers or more whiskey. At first he drank because he was hurt, not just his body even tough it sucked not being able to move around as freely anymore, but he didn't know where he should go from there? He had his mind set on the air force, he had been there a couple of years and he fucking loved it, it had been his calling and when that was taken away from him he didn't know what he should do, so he turned to drinking.

::::

He had told this story many times over the months he had been coming to these meetings, most of the group had heard it before, but there were always someone new, and he didn't tell it for them but for a way to remind himself why he was there

"I was a big fucking ugly drunk" he snorted, "I know we all say we were, but I was even a bigger asshole than usual. All my new friends where drunks, sorry. I was always hanging at the pub, I yelled at everyone, my ma, my wife, scaring them. I was drunk from the moment I woke up in the morning to the time I went to bed. I lost almost all my old friends"

"But then something happened five months ago, I came home from the pub, my wife wasn't home, I took a shower and took a look in the mirror and the man staring back wasn't me, I didn't recognize myself, for a moment I was looking at my dad, my fucking dad, a man I never wanted to become and I was there. It fucking sucked and I knew I had to change my life or else I would always be him. The next day I went to my first meeting" that had been hard, his ma had pushed him in the door, she had been stoked when he came around her house and told her he needed to clean up his act, sure it had been in the middle of the night but she didn't say anything. After that first meeting his ma had taken him home locked him into his old bedroom for two weeks, only getting him out for meetings and meals. It hadn't been a good time, he had screamed, threatened and yelled at her through the door, puked all over the room, but she didn't give up. "Two months later I slipped up, my wife came and told me she wanted a divorce, I wasn't sad because she wanted a divorce either I just felt like a failure, the loser everyone told me I was gonna be", that night he had come to his ma drunk with a bag in his hand, she had slapped him, hugged him and sent him to bed, the next day she drove him to a meeting.

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"Yesterday I almost bought a six-pack, I sat in my ma's car outside the store for almost an hour before driving off" he had been at their house, her house, yesterday and picked up the last off his stuff , she had stood there with her new boyfriend (or old, since she had screwed the dude for two years). He wasn't surprised when Quinn came home and told him she wanted a divorce, she had told him to get the fuck out a couple of times over the years but this was the very first time she had used the word divorce so he knew it was serious so he had packed a bag and headed for the pub, he didn't even raise an eyebrow when she told him she had been seeing someone behind his back, he didn't feel sad or even angry. There was no feelings left there, so who the fuck could blame her?

After telling his story he sat back down and listened to some of the others, he wondered what people he would meet, what stories he would hear when he came to New York. He never planned to move to New York, but two months ago an old buddy from the air force told him he had a job for him, nothing big but it was more than he had so he accepted. He had even went online and signed up for some classes at night school, who the fuck would believe that? He was gonna take a simple business economics class, and a music class just for fun, so maybe he wanted a lot to do when he got there so he didn't screw things up. His air force buddy had found him an apartment in the city as well, so he was pretty much set up.

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Two days later he and his ma was headed out off town, he couldn't really drive (at least that's what the doctors had told him) so his ma had said she would drive the nine or so hours it would take to get to New York, and she was even staying for a couple of days to help him get settled in the new apartment. He didn't own much, some clothes, a few pieces of furniture and a couple of guitars, he didn't even own a fucking bed.

He had sent a message to Quinn last night, giving her his new address and told her he hoped things would work out for her. They had been happy until the accident, even if things was hard with him in the air force and her in college, but somehow they had made it work and when she found a job in Lima and they got married. He wasn't actually home much that first year they were married. After the accident things changed, he changed and she may have tried the first year but she also changed and they would even end up fighting and she started bringing out the worst in him, and somewhere down the line he had stopped loving her and she did the same.

He was so angry after the accident, like he wasn't angry enough? And when he started drinking more, he got angrier and pushed almost everyone away, when Artie came around when he was at home visiting he threw him out, Jake had stopped calling and Mr Schue walked the other way when he would see him in the store or something, this may or may not have something to due with him hitting him with his cane for some reason unknown, he was drunk.

:::

When his ma drive the cars out of Lima he tried not to look back, but he still did, sure he would come visit sometimes but he would never live in that town again.

"Are you sure you want this Noah, it's not too late for me to turn the car around" his ma said,

"Ma, didn't we like talk about this yesterday?"

"We did, but as your mother I only wants what's best for you"

"I'm a big boy ma", he said shaking his head,

"I know, but what about your recovery"

"I told you, Steve has already organized a sponsor for me, first meeting on Monday and I'm not gonna screw up ma"

"I just wish you could just stay in Lima, and.."

"Ma, come on, everyone there thinks I'm this big drunk who'll never change, they are just betting on me screwing up, and Andy got me this job and there ain't many jobs for someone like me in Lima, not only a recovering drunk but, you know" he said pointing at his leg,

"And you called up the physical therapist they recommended right?"

"Yup" he said, "there gonna call me back in a couple of days to give me an appointment" he said looking out the window of the car, "And you know Sam from high school? He's gonna come visit me when he get's back from Florida next week"

"That's great Noah, you pushed everyone away after the accident, have you talked to anyone else from high school?"

"Not really, just told Sam a couple of weeks ago that I was moving to New York when I chatted with him on Facebook, haven't seen most of them since the wedding"

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The drove for almost the whole day, a few stops to get something to eat and stretch their legs, and soon could see New York in front of them.

"I'm gonna call Andy and let him know we are driving into town" he said and took his phone out from his pocket and made the call while his ma continued driving.

When they finally, his ma actually got lost, came around to the address Andy had given him he was standing there waiting for them, Andy was a couple of years older than him, he had already specks of gray in his dark hair, tall and if he wasn't so damn happy and smiley all the time people would be scared of him since he had big muscles and looked like he belonged in a gang. When he joined the air force Andy was one of the older ones who took him under his wings and after the accident he was one of the few he stayed in contact with, drunk or not.

"Puckerman!" Andy said laughing when he finally got out of the car, "You look good man"

"No need to lie" he said, "I look like shit"

"You looked worse when I visited you last year" Andy said as he walked over to the car helping his mother take out his stuff, "You want me to find you a place to park the car Mrs Puckerman?" he asked and his ma nodded and gave Andy the keys, "You guys hang out here, I'll be right back".

When Andy came back almost ten minutes later he told them where he parked the car and that he would show his ma later.

"Anyway, let's take a look at your apartment. Like I said it's quite small, but it will be fine right? You can always move later" Andy told him starting carrying his stuff inside, "it's on the third floor though"

"Fucking great" he mumbled, picking up one of his guitars and following him.

"Relax man, there's an elevator" Andy told him laughing walking in to the building, "come on Mrs Puckerman" he said holding the door open for them. It sucked that he couldn't actually move his stuff himself, but his leg hurt like hell and he had to use the cane to get around, like a fucking old person.

:::

To say the truth, the apartment sucked, a small bathroom, then a kitchen slash living room slash bedroom, but at least it was clean, well clean enough for him, but his ma had already told him she would wash down the place tomorrow before they got any more furniture in to the place,

"Thanks man, for setting me up with a job and this" he told Andy,

"No problem man, I know a lot of people who own me favors" he laughed,

"So anywhere close we could grab some food?" he asked,

"And a hotel please, Noah you can not sleep here tonight, there is no bed" his ma said,

"Sure, there's both just down the road" Andy said with a smile, "I'll take you"

"That would be great" he said, " I wondered if you would help me getting some furniture tomorrow, at least a bed and some other things, I would do it myself, but it's not that easy when you have to concentrate just to walk"

"Sure man" Andy said, "no problem, kinda figured you would ask".

:::

The next morning Andy came around and took him to a place where he could find some very cheap furniture while his ma was at the apartment cleaning. When they got back to the apartment Andy (with help from his ma) got the bed and other furniture inside his apartment, thank god for the elevator. He didn't need much, the apartment had most of the things he needed (like a fridge) and he already owned a TV, but the bed was kind off an important. Since Andy had to leave town that night he left not long after he helped getting the furniture upstairs and then it was just him and his ma. He watched as his ma made the apartment livable(her words), she put up some curtains that were to fucking bright with fucking flowers on them, he was still a dude wasn't he? And she had even bought some fucking plants that would be dead in a week or two, but whatever made her happy right? He could always take down the curtains when she left.

His ma was heading home the next morning after taking him to an early breakfast,

"I noticed a Temple two blocks away Noah" she told him, "there could be some nice Jewish girls there you know"

"Ma, not divorced yet" he stated shaking his head, "and I'm damaged goods ma"

"Nonsense Noah, you are a handsome young man who can still give me Jewish grandchildren"

"Oh my god, I'm not gonna date in at least eight months ma, and you have grandchildren, isn't your daughter pregnant again?"

"Yes of course, she is going to have two small children before she's even 22, it's not gonna be easy"

"You already told her that when she called last month to tell you she was pregnant"

"Of course I did, and her boyfriend isn't even Jewish, he is an atheist Noah"

"I know ma, nothing wrong with that" he told her, "So go to my meetings, go to temple, go to my job and my classes, any more you need to tell me before you leave?"

"No, I have faith in you Noah, call me whenever" his ma opened the car door and leaned over to give him a hug, "you can always come home to Lima you know" she said with tears in her eyes before sitting down in the car,

"Not gonna happen ma, only for visits, drive safely"

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All alone in New York he spent the night eating some pizza and watching some television, then he looked up all the need to know place on a map online(AA, job, classes, stores), as he got ready for bed his phone rang, when he noticed who it he almost ignored it, he wanted to sleep,

"Hi" he said sitting down on his bed,

"Hi" Quinn told him, "have you gotten in to your place?"

"Yup" he said, "What do you want, it's kinda late?"

"Well, Brian asked me to marry him tonight"

"We're not even divorced yet" he said,  
"I know that, I just wanted to tell you before anyone else did"  
"You said yes?"

"I did, Brian is a good man"

"Yeah, good" he said looking at his alarm clock, "look Quinn, I really need to get to bed so.."

"Sure, of course, I just wanted you to know"  
"Thanks for telling me, but our marriage ended with the accident, and I want you to be happy and if marrying Brian is what you want then go for it, you deserve to have at least one happy marriage right?"

"Yes, Thank you, I hope you find someone who makes you happy too"  
"Not gonna happen anytime soon Quinn, but thanks, I'm sorry you know, for everything"

"I know, me too"

"So yeah, good luck with Brian, just send the papers to the address I gave you and I'll sign them and you can start planning your wedding with Brian, tell him I said hello"  
"Great, good luck Puck" they hung up and he laid down on the bed and fell asleep.

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His first week in the city had gone by pretty fast, his worked sucked but at least he earned some money, and some of the guys at the office was cool, but some of them partied way to hard so he couldn't actually hang with most of them outside the office. His first AA meeting had been pretty good, his new sponsor was this awesome wannabee rocker in his late forty's who had been sober for 14 years, the dude owned a music store and teaches guitar to kids. From the meetings he had been to this weeks (he went every day) he quickly found out that other than the few who had been there forever there was always changes, and there was always some weird stories going around. His sponsor whose name is Walt was one of them who always checked up on you, nothing much, a phone call or a text asking how you were, but he didn't mind at all.

He had been to both his classes and it was actually pretty awesome, so he had actually had a good first week in the city.

Since he had been pretty busy all week, he didn't really know what to do when the weekend came, he had been to an early meeting and his day were completely empty, so he was actually fucking happy when Sam sent him a text and told him he was coming over. About an hour later there was a knock on the door and when he opened he found two face from high school instead of two,

"Suprise" Blaine said grinning, before he walked inside with Sam following, "Sam told me he was gonna see you and I kinda tagged along, hope you don't mind" Blaine told him standing in the middle of his apartment taking a look around,

"Uh, no it's fine" he said closing the door, "just find a seat"

"So how are you? Haven't seen you in four years" Blaine said sitting down,

"Yeah, last time was the wedding I guess, I'm fine, could be better but have been worse" he said, "want something to drink? I have water, milk and maybe some orange juice"

"Water will be fine" they both told him and he went to find some bottles, and came back and sat down in the chair.

"Sorry about not visiting after the accident" Sam said, "but I was busy and stuff and then I stopped hearing from you so"

"It's fine" he muttered taking a sip of water,

"So what are you doing here?" Blaine asked, "What have you been up to after the accident? We don't really know much, you're not one to update your Facebook wall"

"Well I'm here because I got a job, and other than making myself walk again I spent the last three years drinking way more than I should do"

"And Quinn? Is she moving here?" Blaine asked,

"Shit, I forgot to tell him" Sam said,

"We're getting divorced, I would think it would have been all over her Facebook page" He said with a smirk,

"Oh, I'm not friends with here on Facebook anymore" Blaine said, "Sorry about the divorce"

"It's fine"

"at least I told him you're in AA, he wanted to bring beer" Sam said smiling,

"Well, you guys surprised?" he said trying to laugh, "So whats up with you Blaine?"

"Not much, I teach some when I'm not working in the theater"

"Your on Broadway? Cool"

"No, I'm an understudy on a Off-Off-way off-Broadway show" Blaine said laughing, "but I love teaching so I don't mind"

"Okay, that's the most important thing right" he said sending Blaine a smile, "And Sam is modeling, saw you in a magazine just the other day"

"Yeah, I'm getting to old, have to find something else soon, if I was more famous I could become a singer or an actor, but"

"Dude your 26" he said, "at least you look great, I need to build some muscles again, all that drinking did some things to my body, and the accident didn't help"

"Got any scars?" Sam asked,

"Yeah, but not in my hot face though" he said making the two other boys laugh.

"Rachel is coming back to town" Blaine said, they had ordered pizza and was sitting in his apartment waiting on them to arrive,  
"Her show were canceled right?" he asked, "didn't watch it but I think Quinn did"

"Yeah, I think so"

"How is she? I haven't seen here in almost six years" he asked,

"She's fine" Sam said,

"Sammy over here is the only one who has actually talked to her face to face for years, and I think that's only because Sam dated that actress for a while and they would sometimes bump into each other" Blaine said with a sad smile, "I get a message from her once in a while but she's busy"

"Sorry" he said, not really knowing what to say,

"Hopefully she will have time for her old friends when she comes back to town" Sam said,

"So do you stay in touch with some of the others?" he asked, knowing that many of them ended up in New York,

"Santana and Artie we see the most" Sam said, "but we talk to Kurt sometimes, but he is kinda busy in London, and we see Brittany when she's in town" he looked over at Blaine and noticed he had a small frown on his face.

"I kinda own Artie an apology" he said,

"He's not angry at you, he told us the story and he understood, but you should give him a call, he's in L.A now though, at least for a couple of weeks"

"What happened there? Blaine and Kurt?" he asked when Blaine went to the bathroom,

"they tried, but they ended things a year ago. It's one thing living in different city's and another living in different countries, they still talk on the phone from time to time"

"That sucks" he said,

"What sucks?" Blaine asked joining them,

"This apartment" Sam said,

"Yeah, it's even smaller than the loft" Blaine said laughing.

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Monday after work he went for an another AA-meeting, he sat down in the back, he wanted to observe today and maybe talk with Walt some later. Most days he didn't really notice the people around him, there was way more people than in the meetings in Lima and they all kinda blended after a while.

He watched as Walt talked to a newcomer,"So we have some new people here today" Walt said, "do one of you want to go first?" he noticed someone raising their hand and walking up, he didn't really pay attention he was pretty tired and his leg had acted up all day.

"Hello, my name is Rachel"

"_Hello Rachel" _, the voice seemed familiar somehow but for a reason he didn't look up,

"I feel wrong for standing up here, since I don't actually have a drinking problem, but I got fired from my work because I came there drunk, and it was a one time thing, I normally don't drink at all, anyway my agent sent me her after I moved back to New York and Walt told me I could sit in on a few meetings and get inspired" Agent? Moving Back? Rachel? He looked up at the woman standing in the front talking. No fucking way? Rachel fucking Berry? "I just want to say thank you for letting me be here" she finished and Walt nodded to her and she sat back down in her seat. While listening to some off the others talk but his eyes kept going back to the back of Rachel's head, out off all the places he would see her again she suddenly decided to show up at his meeting? Weird.

When the meeting ended he stayed seated until he noticed Rachel walking past him and then he followed her, not in a creepy stalker way, but just walking behind her (far behind since he was walking really slow these days). Rachel had stopped on the sidewalk and he walked up behind here,

"Berry" he said, she turned and he noticed the shock on her face when she saw him,

"Noah, what?How? What are you doing here?" he didn't know if she meant the city or the meeting,

"I'm Noah Puckerman, I'm an alcoholic" slipped out of him and he put his hand out, Rachel just looked at him and his hand and he started to laugh, "you're supposed to shake it"

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**AN:**

I can't believe I am actually putting this story out there. Scary.

The story is five chapters, and the story will be over some time and in some of the later chapters there will be some jumping forward in time, since I don't want to drag anything out and make it to long.

The entire story is from Puck's POV.

The characters are most likely OOC.

I hope you like this story, and that I'm not a horrible writer. Keep in mind that I do not write English on a day to day basic so my fingers will make mistakes, but I will try to catch and fix every one of them.

The story is done so every chapters should be up..


	2. Chapter two

Dissclaimer: I don not own Glee (or the characters)

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**Mending Broken Pieces**

Chapter 2 

"I'm so sorry" Rachel told him and gave him a hug, "I am just so shocked seeing you here, last I knew you were in Lima",

"I just moved here" he told here, "Wanna grab a coffee, catch up?" he asked her, still surprised he would meet up with her again at one of his meetings,

"Sure a coffee sounds wonderful, and I happen to know just the place" Rachel told him with a smile and started walking down the street,

"Is it a long walk?" he asked trying to keep up with her, his leg was really acting up today and he had forgotten his cane at home, not a day to take long walks,

"Not at all, it's just down there" Rachel said and pointed to a sign down the street,

"Great, not really in shape to take long walks", Rachel stopped and looked at him,

"Are you hurt Noah? Do you need to go see a doctor?" she asked him concerned,

"No, just an old injury on my leg" he wondered if she didn't know about the accident, but someone would have mentioned to him, he had to ask when they got coffee, "I'll tell you more over the coffee", Rachel nodded and continued walking next to him.

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"I heard about your accident, but my dad's never told me it was that serious, I would have come visiting if I knew" Rachel said after he told her the full story about the accident.

"Don't worry about it" he answered and smirked, "I'm really curious to find out why Rachel Berry is sitting in on my meetings" he asked, Rachel took a deep breath as she looked down in her coffee, at first he didn't think she would even answer him,

"The story is so embarrassing Noah. You probably know that I moved to Los Angeles after I was in Funny Girl, I got offered a role on a television show and I just moved, and without thinking about it. It turned out to be a not so good decision since the show was trashed after the pilot. I was too proud to move back here, so I stayed. I got a job and auditioned all the time, and I got some small parts in the background, I have played a murder victim twenty-eight times"

"You'll get to the point soon right?"

"Yes Noah, I am getting there just listen. Three years ago I was offered a role as a recurring character and at the end of the season I got promoted to main. I loved it, even if there were no singing I loved being a part of the cast. Seven months ago I started dating the guy who played my brother on the show"

"That's disturbing" he laughed,

"Hush Noah, so a couple of months later I found him with one of the stylist, one of the male stylist in fact"

"The dude you dated were gay?"

"Do you want me to finish this story? And even if he was not someone I could see myself with in the long run it made me angry, so I ended up buying a bottle or two of wine and came to the set drunk in the morning, yelling at him. The directors called me to a meeting the next day, and they fired me, I got to be in the last three episodes of the season but that's that. And now my agent don't want any of this coming out so she wants me to stay out of the public eyes for a while, and she also told me to sit in on meetings"

"So just so people can say they have seen you there of the shit hits the fan?"

"Something like that, it is stupid but since she know some of the guys going she organized everything, apparently it is not so uncommon"

"But isn't it a little harsh to fire you because to come to set drunk one time?" he asked,

"Yes" Rachel made a face,

"You did something bad didn't you?"

"I might have thrown hot coffee in Luke's private parts and trashed his trailer"

"Fuck Berry, didn't knew you had it in you"

"I was angry and drunk, and it is really embarrassing, I will never drink again in my whole life" she said and looked down,

"So if you were fired why is it out there that the show is canceled?"

"To gain more viewers, they will spread the news next week that they will be renewed for a new season after all, but they will say that I have decided not to come back because I wish to give Broadway another try, and thank god they are saying that since otherwise my reputation would be ruined forever"

"I see, so you are gonna give Broadway another chance?"

"Perhaps in a couple of months" she said smiling, "But enough about me, is Quinn in New York? I am sorry I could not attend your wedding"

"Quinn is still living in Lima, we're getting divorced" he told her, she looked surprised,

"I am so sorry, you two were always a lovely couple" he snorted and then laughed,

"You should have been around for the last three years Berry, I think you would have other ideas" he told her, "Nothing to feel bad about, we are fine with it. She's even getting married again" he said with a smile.

"That is soon" Rachel stated, "but if you are fine with it" she gave him a smile, "So how long have you been sober?" she asked taking a sip from her coffee,

"Almost four months now, been going to meetings for almost six"

"That's good, I know you can do this"

"Thanks, yeah I'm pretty determined to stay sober even if it's hard, but I know I can't start drinking again, it's not the solution" Rachel phone beeped and she took a look at it,  
"Oh I completely lost track of time, I am supposed to meet Sam in ten minutes, he is helping me carry some stuff in to the apartment, but I would love for you to come to dinner tomorrow, Sam, Blaine and Santana will be there" she told him,  
"Sure, I can manage dinner" he stated, "but I have classes, but they will be done around six"

"Great, dinner will be served around seven then" Rachel said writing her address down on napkin and gave it to him,

"Thanks, looking forward to dinner and thanks for the chat" and he watched Rachel get up from the table,

"It was good to see you again Noah, and I'll see you tomorrow"

"sure, see you then" he answered and Rachel left the coffee shop. 

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The next day he went to work, it was fucking boring to be honest, all he did was sort trough mail and other papers, and answering the phone. Sure it was great to actually make some money, and he needed it to pay rent and to get some food but he was gonna look for some other work On his lunch break he had a coffee with Walt who wanted them to have a chat since he wasn't coming too tonight's meeting, just to make sure he wasn't fucking everything up. The rest of the day at work went by really slow but soon he was on a cab on his way to the other side of town to attend to his class. He did well in the classes, even if he had to a lot of reading on his own he managed. He liked feeling busy since it helped him stay focused and not slip up and it gave him a goal. In two years time he would actually have a degree, since they were doing four years in two it was a lot of work but he was thinking he could do it, he just needed to stay focused and put in the effort and it would be fine.

When class ended he packed his books together and was on his way out to find a free cad so he could get to Rachel's place when one of the girls from his class approached him, she was younger than him, maybe around 21, but even if she was kinda cute he wasn't interested, he was staying away from hook-ups and things that could ruin his recovery,

"So a group of us is heading out for drinks and we wondered if you wanted to come" she asked, trying to look and sound sexy, it didn't work,

"Sorry, already have plans" he said starting to walk away from her,

"Maybe another time then?"

"Don't think so" he answered not stopping walking

"Your loss then" she said,

"Not a big one" he muttered and walked outside, he got cab after a few tries and gave the driver the address.

:::: 

"Look what the cat dragged into town" Santana said when she opened the door, "You look old Puckerman" she gave him a small hug,

"Great to see you too Satan" he said with a smirk,

"Santana be nice" Rachel yelled from inside the apartment,

"Sorry I don't actually do nice" Santana yelled back, he guess somethings never changed,

"So can I come in?" he asked, Santana opened the door more and he walked inside, Rachel's apartment was bigger than his of course, but not to big, it was simple and not anything like her room back in High School, he could still see some boxes lying around so he guessed she wasn't finished moving in yet and it would be more Rachel when it were done,

"Great place" he said when Rachel came in to the room,

"Thank you, sorry it's still a mess but I moved in just a couple of days ago and most of my stuff came last night"

"It's fine" he said, "I'm a little early, classes ended sooner than expected"

"You're taking classes?" Santana said shocked,

"Yup"

"I told you that Santana" Rachel said smiling,

"Well I didn't actually believe you, it's Puck we're talking about here"

"Good to know you have faith in me Satan"

"Ha ha Puck, you're so fucking funny"

"And don't I fucking know it" he smirked 

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Sam and Blaine came walking in the door fifteen minutes later like they owned the place,

"So I brought some desert" Blaine said walking in to the kitchen with a couple of boxes, "It's cupcakes". They talked a little until Rachel told them dinner was ready and they sat around in the living room while she brought out the food,

"Hope your cooking has improved" Sam said laughing,

"You said you liked my food" Rachel said looking at him,

"Yeah, I kinda lied" he watched as Rachel hit Sam over the head with her hand laughing, he noticed that they seemed close, and he remembered Blaine's comment on that Sam was the one who had actually seen Rachel the most in the flesh for a couple of years.

They started eating and he was surprised how well he actually fitted in the gang, it was easy and they joked around, talked about the old days and he got update on all of their life's, he had a great fucking time and he couldn't believe it was four years or more since he saw this guys. After dinner Blaine brought out the cupcakes and they sat around in Rachel's living room talking and having fun.

:::

"I feel left out, I'm the only one in this room that haven't made out with Berry at some point" Santana said taking a bite of her cupcake, "I keep asking when I see her but she keeps turning me down"

"I don't really think Brittany would like that Santana"

"Britt's not even in New York now, she's never gonna find out" he started getting pictures, but wait,

"Hold up, Sam made out with Berry? When did that happen and how?"

"Sam makes out with everyone" Blaine laughed

"Shut up Blaine" Sam said, "It was just a kiss" Rachel snorted, "I was visiting L.A after she moved there and she was pretty down since her show didn't go anywhere so I kissed her"

"It was weird" Rachel said laughing, "I could not look in the eyes for days and he was living in my apartment"

"When I think back, it wasn't the best approach to the situation, should have gone with ice cream"

"You think?" Rachel said with a laugh,

"But you didn't have to slap me" Sam said looking at Rachel,

"It was weird Sam, I had to make you stop trying to put your tongue down my throat" he started laughing, he kinda wish he had been around to see that,

"You slapped me damn hard" Sam muttered,

"You deserved it"

"Guys stop it" Blaine said, "At least she didn't slap me when we made out, and I'm gay" Blaine laughed, "But I do remember biting"

"Oh my god" Rachel said hiding her face in her hands,

"Yeah there was definitely biting involved" he said to Blaine, and he could see that Rachel was really embarrassed now, but he could also see she was laughing,

"I really wanna make out with Berry now" Santana said, "Pretty please?"

"No" Rachel said, "Nobody in this room are never gonna make out with me, not tonight, not ever" they all started laughing.

"Oh, come on Rachie, we should give it another try" Sam said laughing so hard he fell to the floor.

:::: 

That night when he came home he felt better than in a long time, the night had been pretty epic, just old friends hanging out having a fun time, he hoped it would be a regular thing. Laying down on his bed he gave his ma a quick call since she had tried calling earlier, she gave him the latest gossip from Lima, he didn't actually care and she was thrilled he had started hanging out with some of his old friends.

The very next evening he met up with Rachel at a meeting, she sat in the back with him a listened. He went up and gave a short talk, he liked talking and making it clear to himself he was serious. He was headed out for coffee again with Rachel but he had a short talk with Walt first, the guy was worried about him dating again so soon,

"So that girl, is she worth it?" Walt had asked,

"Worth what?" he had asked not sure were Walt were going,

"You know dating can damage your recovery"

"I'm not dating Rachel" he stated,

"You sure about that Puck?" yeah he was fucking sure,

"Yeah, she's an old friend from high school" Walt looked surprised.

"Oh I see"

"And I'm not dating yet, gonna be ready for that and now I'm not"

"I'm just making sure you are not damaging you're recovery" Walt added,

"I know Walt, but Rachel is just a friend"

"It is always good to have friends" Walt nodded, "and it is good for you to have someone you know in this town since you just moved here, we always say that there shouldn't be any major changes for the first year but you have handled the move very well"

"Thanks, so I gotta go since Rachel is waiting, talk to you later"

:::::

Over the next weeks he hanged out with the gang a lot between studies, work and meetings. He had his first appointment to psychical therapy, since his leg would be fucked up forever it was important that he got the best training, just to improve his walking and maybe take away some of the pain, and he hadn't really been going for the last couple of years so he hoped it wasn't too late. Sam also had started taking him to the gym when he had some spare time and he started lifting weights again, he had really let himself go after the accident and he wanted to have some of his body back. He started feeling alive again, that he had a life and he felt that moving to New York had been the right decision after all. He found it easier staying sober when there wasn't people always judging him like back in Lima, he had a lot more too do with work and studying. The city would be good for him, he was sure of that and he wondered what else it had in store for him.

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	3. Chapter three

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any of it's characters.

**Mending Broken pieces**

Chapter 3

_6 months later..._

"I have not have a drink in 9 months and 22 days" he said standing in front of the people sitting there listening, some of the struggling with their own recovery, "I just moved here six months ago and people back home was worried about my recovery, hell even I was fucking worried. This is a big city, I didn't know what to expect and for all I knew I could have fucked it up in just a week. Back home my ma was always around after I decided to get sober, even after all the shit I put her through over the years."

A couple of months ago he had written his ma an apology letter, it had been hard but when she called him crying he knew it was worth it, she had cried and called him stupid and that no matter what shit he did he was always her little boy and she would do anything for him.

"Walt over here has been great" he said nodding to Walt who sat in the front row, "he took me under his wings even before I walked in, so thank you", Walt gave him thumbs up and a smile,

"I still have a long way to go, but a year ago I would never even believed that I could stay up talking and still being sober, and that's fucking impressing" he finished his little speech and went back down and sat down next to Rachel who were still sitting in on meetings even after six months, she had told him it calmed her and she had started helping out. She gave him a big smile when she looked at him.

:::: 

The last six months had gone by really fast, he couldn't fucking believe that it had already been over six months since he came her, it felt like he just arrived. Four months ago he quit the job that Andy had got him, since Walt asked him if he wanted to manage his new music store, and he did it, since there was other people working there and he didn't have to always stay in the store it was better hours, better pay, and it was more him. His studies also went great, he had his first exams a couple of weeks ago and he actually did good. If he kept this up he would be having a degree before he was thirty, it would fucking nice. He had also left that shitty apartment for a less shitty one just a block away from the store, this one had a bedroom, he was fucking stoked about that. The new apartment was closer to everything he needed to have close by.

:::: 

The most important change was that he now was a free man, sure he had been for some time, but his divorce was finalized two months ago, Quinn came to town one day four months ago with the last paperwork, she wanted to sign the ting face to face, so they met up for lunch, signed the papers and he walked out as a single man, and he didn't fucking care. 

**Flashback –**

"_**Do you thing things would have been different if I wasn't in the accident" he had just signed the papers when he asked that question, the thought just passed trough his head, **_

"_**I don't know, maybe we would have lasted a couple more years, but I think the result would still be the same and we were meant to go our separate ways. If we were meant to be we would have worked even after the accident, or even with your drinking but we didn't, we just out-grew each other" Quinn had calmly answered him. **_

"_**I think that's true, we never actually lived together since I would be away for month" he smirked, knowing they would have ended anyway the day he stayed home more, **_

"_**We were kids when we started out after high school, and with our history we both wanted it to work so much that we didn't see the things that were wrong" he nodded while listening, **_

"_**Do you remember how you proposed, or even why you did it?"**_

"_**uh, don't know, we had a fight and I went out and bought an engagement ring?" he said, **_

"_**Yes, we had a fight about commitment, I don't remember the details. I think you proposed to show me you could do it, you could commit to someone and you proposed to prove a point." Quinn looked down at the divorce papers, "You never saw yourself spending the rest of your life with me, and I just wanted that"**_

"_**We fucked up, but I don't remember thinking that"**_

"_**I could see it in your eyes, you wanted to prove me wrong, sure we loved each other but not enough, and I still said yes even if I deep down knew it would never last"**_

"_**So when Brian asked he had the right look?" he asked with a smile, **_

"_**Yes he did, I could see in his eyes how much he wanted to spend the rest of his life with me. Maybe that's when I finally got it, got how love is supposed to feel" Quinn smiled and looked down at her engagement ring,**_

"_**I understand" he said, **_

"_**I hope you get to feel that one day too"**_

"_**We'll see, anyway Rachel says hey, she wants to see you when you're in town, you should give her a call.**_

_**End Flashback -**_

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"Anyone have any tips on what song I could do for my showcase assignment next week?" he asked when the others were gathered for dinner at his place,

"What are the assignment?" Blaine asked,

"Hidden feelings, secret feelings or something like that" he snorted, "It has to be a song about something you feel deep inside that not everyone knows"

"I see" Blaine and Rachel said at the same time,

"Should I do a song about recovery? " he asked, he didn't have a fucking clue,

"You could do that Noah, but it's hardly a hidden or secret feeling" Rachel said,

"I Guess you are right" he muttered,

"I think you should go deeper" Sam said and smiled,

"I'm not really that deep" he said and Rachel punched him in the arm,

"Stop selling yourself short" she told him, he looked her in the eyes and smiled,

"you guys are no help at all" he said laughing, he still had a couple of days to figure the assignment out.

::: 

"Guys, I come bearing gifts" Artie said rolling in the door, "My movie is finally here"

"Cool man, what's it about?" he asked looking over at Artie,

"It's a documentary about homeless people"

"Don't you make music videos and short films?" he asked confused

"Most of the time, but I was asked to make this one"

"I'm sure it will be very interesting Artie" Rachel said smiling beside him, he nodded is head in agreement .

Almost two hours later the end credits started, Rachel was sleeping in his arm and had slept for almost the entire movie, Santana had been really into the movie, Sam had left since he apparently had somewhere to be (liar), and Blaine had sat with his phone the entire time, and him? He had spent almost the entire movie watching the girl (woman) sleeping on him, he just couldn't keep his eyes away from her for some reason.

"So what did you guys think?" Artie asked turning his chair around, he gave Rachel a small nudge,

"I'm not asleep" she said sitting up in shock, "oh" she let out when she noticed Artie looking at her,

"It was great" Santana said saving Rachel from Artie's death glare, but not for long,

"I can't believe you fell asleep watching my first ever documentary" he said,

"I'm so sorry, I will watch it again with you whenever you want" Rachel told him,

"You bet, you're gonna be front and center when I have the première" Artie said, "You too Blaine, don't think I didn't notice you looking at your phone for the whole movie" Blaine looked at Rachel and they shared a shocked look, he would feel sad for them but he was in the clear, fuck yeah,

"I will be honored watching the première" Rachel said,

"Yeah, sorry" Blaine added and Artie smiled.

"You could have woken me up a little before Noah" Rachel said, when only her and Blaine were left at his place,

"Nah, you and Blaine deserved it" he laughed, " playing a game for over two hours is not cool Anderson" he said,

"I didn't play a game" Blaine said laying on the couch,

"What the hell were you doing then?"

"I was writing with a guy I met at work?"

"Stephen?" Rachel asked and Blaine nodded, who the fuck were Stephen? Whatever, dude needed to move on anyway.

::: 

"Let me help you with the dishes" Rachel said when he was cleaning up after dinner,

"Thanks" he said giving her a smile,

"Don't mention it, Blaine fell asleep" she said looking over to the living room,

"Oh, you wanna crash here too? It's getting kinda late"

"I would like that, I don't like walking out alone at night" they did the rest of the dishes in quiet peace.

"You wanna borrow something to sleep in, I think I have something" he asked

"That would be nice" he went inside his bedroom and found her a t-shirt and a pair of sweats,

"They are probably way to big" he told her handing them over,

"No problem" she said with a smile, while Rachel was in the bathroom he found a blanket and threw over Blaine, turned of the lights in the living room,

"So Noah where should I sleep?" Rachel asked walking back out from the bathroom in his clothes, why did that make him feel weird?

"Uh yeah, I kinda figured we just share the bed since Blaine already on the couch, we'll both have clothes and the bed is kinda big, I would stay on the floor but my back and leg wouldn't like that"

"Oh Noah, of course we can share the bed, I would never ask you to sleep on the floor" Rachel said walking in to the bedroom,  
"Great, I'm just gonna change" he told her.

Rachel was already sleeping when he got out from the bathroom and he was being quiet walking to the other side of the bed getting in. He got a strange feeling thinking about that he would be sharing a bed with Rachel, he didn't know why but for a while now he had been weird around her, more nervous and just weird and he didn't know why. He laid down and took one last look at Rachel's sleeping body before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

When he woke up the next morning Rachel was cuddling up against him and he had his arm around her, he liked this he may like it too much, she was his friend for fuck sake, when the fuck had this happened? Had he started having feelings for Rachel? Sure she was super hot, but again she was his friend. Pushing her carefully away from him so she wouldn't wake up he got into his living room and noticed Blaine sleeping on the couch, he walked over to his bathroom and took a quick shower, in his shower he tried clearing his head about thoughts about Rachel, but it was fucking impossible, fuck, how was he gonna work this out? He fucking liked Rachel Berry, way more than in a friendly way and he hadn't even noticed.

After getting out of the shower and getting dressed he came back outside to the living room, Blaine was awake now lying on the couch, he walked over to the kitchen and put on the coffee maker, he pushed every thought of Rachel to the back of his head, he had to deal with that later.

"Sorry for falling asleep last night, Rachel got home alright?"

"She's still here, sleeping" he said nodding to the bedroom,

" you slept with her?" Blaine said standing up and walking over to him,

"Yes, No, not like that, we just shared a bed"

"Oh" Blaine said and poured himself a cup of coffee, "how late is it?"

"Not that late, a little after eight" he said, "should maybe wake up Rachel since I need to get going soon" he said, Blaine nodded and he went to his bedroom,

"Rach? You need to get up" he said opening the door, she looked so calm that he almost regretted that he had to wake her up, he shook her shoulder carefully and she opened her eyes,

"Oh Good morning Noah" she said sitting up and smiling,

"Morning, I need to head out soon, there is coffee in the kitchen" he said,

"Okay, just let me get dressed" she told him getting up from bed. 

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After Rachel spent the night, and it had been totally innocent, he started thinking about her all the fucking time, her smile, her laugh, her eyes and how she looked when she slept, he didn't think about much else. He couldn't say what this was, sure he liked her, maybe he liked her a lot but why now after all this time just thinking about her as one of his best friends? He hadn't actually looked at woman after coming to New York, he had concentrated on his work, recovery and schoolwork, so why when did he start having some feelings for Rachel? It had sneaked up on him and he was surprised, fucking surprised and he didn't know where he should go from this. He had planned not to date until he had been sober for at least a year, and he still wanted that, one year just focusing on himself and the recovery, so where did Rachel fit in?

One night when he was working late doing some last-minute paperwork he found a song for his showcase, it may not be a perfect fit but it was something hidden, something he wanted to get off his chest even if it meant that things would change, it might hurt him. Sam and Blaine were the only one's who would actually attend the showcase, since Rachel had a meeting with her agent, Santana was visiting Brittany and Artie were somewhere making a new music video, but Blaine had promised he would film the performance and he didn't know if he wanted him to do that, if just Sam and Blaine would see it would still be private, but he just had to go with it.

The day before his showcase he was having his regular coffee with Rachel after the meeting, he wondered if he looked at her any different or treated or different after he realized he had feelings for her. They had become very close over the last couple of months, and if he thought back there was always touching and he never really thought about it back then, now all he wanted was to touch her, be close to her,

"So Blaine told me you found a song for your showcase" Rachel said taking him out from his thoughts,

"Yeah" he said and gave her a smile, "a couple of days ago, hope I nail it" Rachel nodded at him, smiling that perfect smile, the genuine one that told him she cared,

"I am sure you will impress everyone Noah, I really wish I could be there. But I look forward to watching Blaine's footage" he really hoped she would like it, and that she would understand it,

"Thanks" he said, crossing his fingers that he wasn't about to ruin everything.

:::: 

When he was standing behind the stage listening to some of the others from his class doing their songs the only thing he could think about what he should say to explain his song choice, would he use the right words? Knowing that Rachel would see this tomorrow on her lunch date with Blaine was nerve wrecking, but he had to let it get out of his head, he had to do his best tonight, and whatever happened later he would handle, at least he hoped he would. Taking a look at the crowd watching he did see Blaine and Sam sitting in the front, Blaine having his phone out ready to tape his song, he was next in line and went to get his guitar and the chair he was gonna sit on while singing, he had planned standing but his leg acted up again, maybe from all the stress. Someone told him he was up and he went on stage, fucking praying that he wouldn't fuck up.

He put the mic lower and sat down in the chair with the guitar in his lap, glancing over the crowd trying to find the right words to start his explanation, he took a quick breath and started talking,

"Hi, my name is Noah Puckerman, The song I'm singing tonight says it all, I struggled finding the right song since I didn't know what I was gonna sing about, but not long ago I had a moment and something changed and I knew that was what I needed to get out there tonight. The song may not be perfect for my situation, but I think it still says it all. I've recently discovered that I might be falling for someone, but since I've been trough a lot of shit these last couple of years I don't feel ready for taking that step just yet" He catches Sam's eyes who were wide and surprised, Blaine didn't lift en eyebrow just kept on filming, "so here it goes" he found the right chord on his guitar and started playing, not looking up

::

_You could be my unintended  
Choice to live my life extended  
You could be the one I'll always love  
You could be the one who listens to my deepest inquisitions  
You could be the one I'll always love_

_I'll be there as soon as I can_  
_But I'm busy mending broken pieces of the life I had before_

::

He looked up at the next part of his song, but he didn't dare look at Sam or Blaine he settled his eyes on an old lady in the back and continued his song. It may not be the perfect song but it explained how he felt, he wasn't ready for dating but if she wanted he would be there one day. When he finished the song he finally took a look at Sam and Blaine, they were applauding him, he thanked the audience and walked behind stage to pack up of his stuff. He had a short talk with some of the guys from his class, who were still waiting on their turn before heading out catching up with Sam and Blaine,

"So think I'll pass?" he asked, he didn't know if he only meant the class,

"It was really good" Blaine said with a friendly smile, Sam was more quiet probably thinking things over. 

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He knew he had ruined everything when Rachel didn't call or stop by after her lunch date with Blaine, he had tried calling her a couple (nine) times but she didn't pick up her fucking phone. He was so fucking stupid, he should have done another song, she would probably never talk to him again. He found his phone and called Blaine, he wanted to know what she had said when she saw the video,

"Hey Blaine" he s aid when he heard Blaine answering, "so talked to Rachel today?"

"I did and she saw the video, she told me you were wonderful and walked off" Blaine told him,

"She walked off?" he asked surprised, that sounded weird,

"Yeah, I don't really know why, she didn't even get to order anything"

"I have tried calling her but she don't pick up" he told Blaine concerned,

"She's probably busy Puck, don't worry" but all he did was fucking worry and he wanted a fucking drink, hanging up his phone he tried Rachel again but still no answer, after that he called Walt and said he needed a talk, like fucking yesterday, he wouldn't screw things up, he couldn't screw things up now.

::: 

He met up with Walk at his store, they sat around talking for a while before they went to a meeting and he calmed down and his need for a drink went away, but it was a scary thought that he was so close to slipping up, but knowing he had called Walt right away and not found the nearest bar made him feel good. He and Walt had a late dinner after the meeting, since Walt didn't wanna let him go home straight away and after he followed him to his building. Walking up the stairs to his apartment, no elevator, luckily he lived on the second floor, he noticed someone sitting outside his door, he could see it was Rachel, she noticed him and stood up,

"Noah, you are here" she giggled and he knew she had been drinking, her voice was blurry even if her words were clear, she leaned against the wall for support, fuck.

"Yeah" he muttered and went to open his door, "Come inn" he said and Rachel walked inside finding a chair to sit down in, he stood there watching her for a while, he didn't know how long, 4 seconds? 1 minute? 5 minutes?

"What the fuck are you thinking?" he said, "you think it's a fucking good idea to come here drunk? To my home?" he asked walking over to the kitchen so he could make her some coffee,

"I'll go" Rachel said and started walking to the door,

"You are not fucking going anywhere" he said, "sit the fuck down", he could hear her crying and he knew he had the right to be angry he still wanted to hold her and comfort her,

"I'm sorry" she whispered when he brought her the strong as fuck coffee, "I'll drink this and go"

"You are fucking staying Rachel, I can't have you walking into the closest bar and let you drink yourself stupid"

"I can control myself, I'm not an alcoholic like you" she said

"I can fucking see that" he said back, fuck he needed to calm down, take a breath, "Rach" he said a little softer, "sit down, drink the coffee"

"I'm sorry for being mean" Rachel cried,

"Just drink the coffee and we'll talk" he watched while Rachel took sips of the coffee, he knew he should probably kick her out, or at least put her in a cab and send her home but he wanted her there, he wanted to know why she was drunk, if she went home now he didn't know if he'd ever see her again.

:::: 

Five cups of coffee later Rachel was sitting on the couch still crying,  
"Why are you drunk, why did you show up at my home drunk?"he asked, watching her,

"Before lunch my agent called me to inform me that the reason for me leaving the show, the real reason are hitting the papers tomorrow, my reputation will be ruined after that"

"So you decided to make it worse? What if someone noticed you?"  
"I know, I wanted to come to you straight after talking to my agent but I was meeting Blaine and then I saw the video"

"Good to know my singing makes you hit a bar Rachel"

"It's not that, you were wonderful"

"Then what the fuck is it?"

" It was your song, or I don't know"

"Tell me"

"I have been falling in love with you, actually falling in love for the first time since" the name went unspoken, "and then you are falling in someone else" Rachel broke down in tears and he didn't know what to say, "and my reputation are ruined and I just needed to feel something else"

"Rachel"

"And I know it's stupid for me believing that you could feel anything about me and I shouldn't be this sad since you never said you liked me" she muttered drying her tears,

"I'm not falling in love with someone else" he said looking her in the eyes,

"but the song?"

"It's you" Rachel leaned forward to kiss him but he pushed her away, "I can't, you have been drinking and it's a very bad idea" he stood up, "I'll sleep on the couch and you'll get the bed, we can talk tomorrow"

"Okay" Rachel said and walked over to the bedroom,

"There's some clothes in the closet, just find whatever" he said sitting down watching her walk away to his bedroom.

::: 

He didn't sleep much that night, two hours at most, he had laid on the couch thinking about where he should go from here, he knew what he wanted to do and what he should do and he had to choose and it was fucking hard. The next morning he was sitting drinking a cup of coffee when Rachel came out of the bedroom,

"Hi" he said, "There's coffee" he pointed to the kitchen and Rachel walked over finding a cup,

"I'm so sorry" she said, "i don't know what I was thinking coming here in my state"

"You weren't"

"You are probably right" she said nodding her head,

"Yeah, I had a bad night, I almost slips up and when I finally get things under control someone is sitting outside my apartment drunk"

"Oh god, I am so so sorry"

"I know, I really do Rach but we need to talk"

"of course"

"I meant what I said last night, I do think I feel something for you, but after last night I think we need a break from each other"

"What?"

"It's not forever, just for a while. I need to get my shit together and even if I want to hang around you, I do Rach so bad, I can't." he could see the tears in her eyes, "don't cry"

"I understand Noah" she took his hand, "You don't want to risk your recovery and I don't want that either"

"And this way we get to think our feelings over right?"

"Sure, so for how long?"

"I don't know, 3 months?" Rachel gasped, "I need at least 3 months, but I need you to get your life under control too, and when you are ready contact me, I'll be right here"

"Okay" she said standing up, "I'll just get the rest of my stuff and get out of your way". Rachel came back from the bedroom with her stuff and headed for his door, he followed, he gave her a hug and kissed the top of her head,

"I'll be here Rach"

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"Rachel is completely down the dumps" Sam said when he came visiting a couple of days later, he didn't feel any better, he knew he needed distance but he missed her, so fucking much,

"Was I too harsh?" he asked, feeling like a complete dick,

"No, you need to focus on your recovery" Sam told him, "and she understands", he nodded,

"I miss her you know" Puck whispered,

"Yeah, do you love her?" Sam asked, he hadn't even thought about the love word yet,

"I care for her, I like her, I'm falling in love" he stated looking at the floor, "could you keep an eye out for her? Make sure she does whatever she needs to be doing?" he said turning to look at Sam,

"I always wants whats best for her, I would have done that no matter what" Sam answered with a smile,

"Thanks" he said, "so let the guys know right, I can't hang with you as much for a while"

"Don't be stupid Puck, we're not dropping you out of our life, Rachel made a chart" Sam laughed,

"She did what?"

"Yeah she has us Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays since that's the days you are busy with work, classes and stuff, and you'll have us the other days"

"She did that?"

"Yeah sent us an e-mail explaining everything" they both laughed,

"She's to damn cute" he said, damn he was gonna miss her. 

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Song Credit:

Muse – Unintended


	4. Chapter four

Disclaimer: Glee do NOT belong to me, and neither does the characters

:: 

**Mending Broken Pieces**

Chapter 4

_6 months later_

Standing in the airport he was fucking nervous, one the day he had been sober for over one year (fuck yeah) he had called Jake for the first time since that day in his house in Lima when Jake had slammed the door in his face, he had heard Jake being hesitant over the phone, not sure if he believed the words he was saying but he had agreed on coming for a short visit, and now some short months later the day was here. Jake was flying in from San Francisco, when the fuck he moved there he had no idea.

"Hi man" he said when Jake was walking up to him,

"Hey" Jake said looking at him with weary eyes,

"Good to see you little bro" he said with a smirk,

"You practically begged me to come so I'm here" Jake said without any emotions, this was gonna be so hard,

"So you're still gonna stay in a hotel? I have a couch at the apartment with your name on it"

"Still gonna stay at the hotel" Jake told him while they had started walking outside, "You're leg any better?"

"Yup, as good as it gets I guess, better than before" he stated.

"That's great Puck, and your actually sober?"

"Yeah, one year four months" he stated proud,

"Good, that's good, you look better"

"Thanks, feel better too"

Driving a cab over to the hotel Jake would be staying at for the next two days he found the courage to say the one thing he had wanted to say since they met up at the apartment

"I'm sorry" he said looking at Jake, "sorry for everything that happened, I was an ass"

"Not your finest moment no, and that's saying something"

"I'm so fucking sorry"

"You almost beat the shit out of me, if it hadn't been for your leg you would have and the only thing I did was to tell you that you needed help"

"I was angry" he stated,

"That's no excuse Puck, I tried to get you to open your eyes, I was afraid to come around not knowing what shit you would throw at me, and I could handle the words but that was something else"

"I know, I'm so sorry" he said again, hoping Jake would believe him,

"Was that the only time you hit someone, did you ever touch Quinn?"

"No, I never touched her, I swear Jake, I'm not like that" he said shocked that Jake would believe something like that, "and I never started fights really, most of the time I was too drunk to care"

"Okay" Jake said when the cab stopped outside the hotel, "I'm here and I wanna trust you again but you have to know that this doesn't fix everything" giving the can driver some money,

"I'll meet you later for dinner" he said and Jake nodded, he gave the cab driver the address to the store, he needed to do some work before dinner with Jake later.

Jake was one of the last pieces, he had already visited his sister in Cincinnati and they had mended some bridges, she hadn't been around after graduation when she moved for college so she hadn't experienced that much but he still owned her an apology. It had been nice being there just being an uncle and a brother for a couple of days, he couldn't believe that his little sister had two children on her own and she was only 23 years old. She had a nice life there, her fiancé was a nice man, two years older and had a good stable job and she was happy.

The last six months had been hard and easy all in once, since Rachel wasn't around anymore he caught himself missing her all the time and waited by the phone for her to call but it never happened, he was still waiting. He had told her the truth when he said he would be there when she was ready, as far as he knew his feelings hadn't changed at all. Sam and Blaine had of course kept him updated on her life but he just wanted to see her again soon, talk to her.

The store went good, he had started teaching some guitar lessons and Walt let him do pretty much as he wanted around the store, since the guy actually trusted him. He did a good job managing the store, they earned money and Walt wanted to expand the store since it was one of his most visited and they could use some more space, he had been in talks on buying something bigger in the next door building.

He ha passed the first year of his classes with good grades, actually good grades and he had a good start on the new year and he was very positive that he would have his degree this time next year.

:::

Sitting in the back of the store he watched his employer handled the customers while he did some paperwork before heading for dinner with Jake, he hoped things would be easier and Jake would let him back in to his life again.

Dinner with Jake went great, there were some awkward moments but they had talked more and Jake had opened up about his life in San Francisco, he had moved there when he met his girlfriend two years ago, they were living together and were expecting their first child in three months. He was happy for his brother. They agreed they would hang the next day and maybe visit some of the tourist spots. 

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Getting out from his cab after dinner with Jake he noticed Sam waiting in front of his building.

"Hey, I was just gonna call" Sam said when noticed him walking up,

"Yeah?" he said and walked inside,

"How's Jake?" Sam asked him knowing his brother was in town,

"He's fine, gonna be a daddy" he stated with a smile,

"Really? Wow"

"So why are you here Sam, probably not for checking up on my brother's life"

"I have a message for you"

"What? Do you wanna go inside" He asked,

"Don't have the time, meeting someone soon" Sam answered, he nodded,

"It's from Rachel, she wants you to read this" Sam said giving him an envelope,

"Really?"

"Yeah, she wants to meet up with you, just read the what she wrote"

"Thanks man" he smirked,

"No problem Puck, see ya later" Sam told him and started walking away, he walked up to his apartment and opened the envelope as soon as the door closed behind him. 

_Noah!_

_I made Sam deliver this note just in case you don't wish to see me or hear from me. _

_If that's the case you can just throw this letter in the trash and forget it completely, I will be sad but understanding if I don't hear from you. _

_I hope you continued reading!_

_I have missed you so much over the last six months Noah, not only because I had started having some feelings for you but also because I miss my friend, my best friend. I understand why you had to have a break from being around me, and I hope the break has been long enough since I don't want anything to mess up with your recovery. Congratulations on being sober for over a year Noah, I knew you could do it. _

_I will let you make the next step, if you want to meet up with me one day, just give me a call or send me a message, I will be waiting._

__

Rachel

_:::_

He read the note a couple of times, actually hearing Rachel's voice in his head and finds the courage to actually pick up his phone to text her

_**To Rachel: I'm in. NP**_

He looked at the phone waiting for a reply from Rachel, he was freaking stoked that he some day soon would actually get to see Rachel again, laying down on his couch closing hgis eyes he tried to picture their reunion, he didn't know what it meant, or how they should do it, he wanted to be her friend, he wanted more but he needed her in his life somehow, he wondered if his feelings were actually still there or this was just his head making things bigger over the last six months, he jumped when the phone beeped telling him he got a message waiting for him,

_**From Rachel: Great! When do you want to meet? Maybe dinner?**_

He answered telling her that Jake was in town but told her he could do dinner the day Jake left since he was gonna leaving around lunch. He had a huge grin when they had agreed on a time and place, he was actually gonna see her again, but he had to just push it back in his mind, he had to focus on Jake when he was in town, trying to mend some more fences with him. 

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The very next day he was in a good mood, he was gonna meet Rachel tomorrow night and he was hanging with his brother all day. He had to stop by the store to sign some papers but thank fuck he didn't have to work today. He had told he would take him sightseeing, and he was happy as fuck that he could walk around more without his leg acting up right away. He had been pretty busy training for the last six months, Sam and Blaine started taking him more to the gym and he had noticed that his body was looking more like his old pre accident body, sure the scars were there but who cared. He also had attended Physical Therapy on a more regular basis which helped his leg improve. He had been told that his leg would never fully be healed and he had accepted that, but with some work he didn't have to use the cane and his limping wouldn't be so noticeable.

When he met up with Jake outside the hotel he took his brother sightseeing, showing him places he had found in his time in the city, he also showed him more of the tourist spots. They ended the night early with dinner and since Jake was leaving before lunch they decided to meet up for breakfast before he went to the airport.

"I can see you are better" Jake said while they were seated, "I think this visit had been good"

"Yeah, I hope we can stay in touch" he said, "I would like to meet my niece or nephew some day"

"You might" Jake said smiling, "maybe not yet since he or she isn't born yet" they laughed,

"You should come here with your girl, and the kid of course when it's born"

"I'll think about it, you could come to San Francisco for a visit if you want"

"I would like that" he said, "I might take you up on that"

"Great" Jake gave him a smile, they ate the rest of their dinner joking around and talking, he felt like he had mended some fences and they would be in touch again after this.

He had waited a long time to make the call to Jake, after his one year anniversary of being sober he had decided that it was time, it was hard thinking back to the last time they talked, he knew Jake had been disappointed in him, and when he had tried telling him he had beaten the kid, he still remembers the last words Jake had told him, standing there bleeding he had muttered an angry, _You're turning into our dad, a fucking loser,_before slamming the door in his face. Thank fuck they had sorted that out. He knew Jake didn't trust him yet, and he might never do that again but for them to sit around and talk, have fun and being brothers was important to him. He followed Jake to the airport the next morning, giving him a hug and told him goodbye, he would make sure they saw each other again soon.

::: 

He went to a meeting that day before dinner with Rachel, it was a habit. He didn't attend meetings every day these days, just a couple of times a week, Walt had his eye on him all the time anyway and he felt more like a good friend than the sponsor he had been in the beginning. But he liked going to meetings, knowing that a year ago he was like some of them, unsure if they actually could do this. 

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Standing outside of the place he was meeting Rachel he was fucking nervous, would it be the same? Would he still feel something, would she feel something? What if one of them felt it and not the other? What if he wasn't ready for this, maybe he should go home? Fuck his mind was a mess. A cab drove up and he could see Rachel coming out of it, he smiled and his heart was beating in his chest, when he watched her move towards him he could see that she had changed in the last few months, she had a more confident approach, she looked relaxed and more calm and it suited her, she looked pretty hot.

"Hi" he smiled when she was in front of her, and for a second he didn't know what to do,

"Hello Noah" Rachel told him giving him a hug, "I can not tell you how happy I am that you agreed to meeting me" fuck should his cheek tingle like that?

"Yeah, no problem. I told you I was waiting on your call" he said opening the door for her, a waiter came up and showed them to a table and gave them menus.

"So how are you?" he asked,

"I am really good" Rachel said giving him a smile before looking down in her menu "and you?"

"I'm good, been pretty busy but it's slowing down now, so what have you been up to?" he asked,

"I am sure Sam or Blaine have filled you in" she made a small laugh, and they had but he wanted to hear it from her, "I spent a little over a month back home in Lima with my fathers, I needed to get out of the city because I wanted to see you all the time" she smiled, "and then I spent two months in London visiting Kurt. I have thought a lot, sorting trough things. I started seeing a therapist and I still go to meetings from time to time, It helps me think"

"I haven't seen you" he said,

"I figured I should go somewhere else, and Walt kindly helped me find a place more suited for someone like me"

"He didn't say anything about that" he told her,

"I told him not too. It is not exactly the same, there are a lot of people who meets up and talk, there are people with drinking problems there but also people with eating disorders and other types of problems, it is open for everyone even for someone like me who just like being there" she said,

"Sounds great" he told her, the waiter came and took their orders and after Rachel continued talking,

"After the press started publicizing the stories about me I was so sad, I wanted to talk to you since you always knew how to help me out but I couldn't so at first I went to Lima and then to London, hide away for a while"

"Did it help?"

"Yes, I could focus on myself more, and when I came back here Walt introduced me to this new group and my Agent have seen a change in me and set me up for an audition next week"

"I'm happy for you Rachel"

"I really want to tell you how sorry I am for showing up at your place in my state, I could have ruined everything for you. I will tell you I am now staying sober for the rest of my life"

"You can still drink Rach" he snorted, "just not around me"

"I know, it's not for you but for me, alcohol isn't good for me anyway, do you know how many calories there are in a drink?" he started laughing,

"I never counted" Rachel smiled at him, the food they had ordered came around and they ate and had small talk, he told her about what he had been up to, about Jake being in town, he had a big thing to find out he just didn't know how to say it, he might just jump right in,

" How do you feel about me?" Rachel looked at him and gave a small smile,

"It has been six months Noah, and I do know I care deeply for you but I can not say where my feelings are at the moment, I think I need to be your friend again and then we take it from there" he still had feelings for her, he had known since he saw her outside, "and you?" Rachel asked,

"The same" he lied, he didn't want to ruin anything, and he could always be friends,

"So we are friends who are finding out how we feel?" Rachel asked, "we will just hang out like we did before and then if anything changes we will tell the other"  
"Yup, sounds like a plan" he told her,.

::: 

"You're walking has improved" Rachel stated when he followed her home after dinner,

"Yeah, treatment helps, still painful but not too bad" he said,

"That's good, I actually talked to Quinn when I went back to Lima"

"How was she?" he hadn't talked to her since they signed the divorce papers,

"Happy, planning her wedding to Brian, He seems nice, but he is nothing like you" she said and looked at him,

"Huh?" he asked, why the fuck should he be like him?

"if he looks like anyone from the Glee club it's a mix between Artie and Mr Schue" Rachel laughed and he smirked,

"I thought the same when I first saw him, that was back when I was drunk 24 hours a day so I didn't think anymore over it, but now that you mentioned it, still don't see why he should look anything like me" he told her looking at her, "do all your exes look the same?"

"No, not at all, I don't have that many exes but no they do not all look the same, I'm not even talking about looks in general" she said looking down, he nudged her shoulder,

"At least you have dated two man whores right?" he laughed,

"God, he told you?" she said getting a sad look on her face,

"I still miss him" he said, "all the fucking time"

"me too" she whispered and he put his arm around waist, they soon walked up to her apartment,

"Thanks for walking me here Noah, I will see you tomorrow" Rachel told him and gave him a hug,

"No problem, it was nice hanging out with you again" he said and stopped a cab, "I'll see ya, good night". 

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The next day he only had to work so he spent the day in the store, rearranging and setting up some new clients for his tutoring, most of them were teenagers who wanted to learn how to play and he liked helping them, he had some clients almost every afternoon when he had someone to look after the store. Their customers were mostly musicians who needed sheet music, guitar pecks or new instruments, and then there were the collectors who wanted vinyl records, the regulars would always chat about what they had been up to and he fucking liked it, he liked working at the store but he didn't know if he would do it forever but he could see himself doing it for a while.

::: 

Meeting up at Rachel's after work and grabbing something to eat he wasn't surprised to find Santana sprawled out on the couch,  
"Look who's back" she said and gave him a smile, "sorry I haven't been around so much" he shrugged his shoulders, Santana had spent some time traveling with Brittany for the last three months, how the hell she could afford that he didn't know but whatever,

"Santana is very happy today" Rachel yelled from what he suspected was the bedroom, "Brittany told her she will be settled down soon"

"really?" he asked and raised his eyebrow, from what he was told he knew that Brittany had been a back up dancer and been on tour with different artists and bands for the last six years,

"Yeah, she's getting tired and need a break"

"Good for her, and you" he smirked, Santana nodded and went to the kitchen. Sam, Artie and Blaine came not long after and they sat down to watch the movie, he hadn't heard the name before and he wondered what the hell it was about, apparently it was an indie film.

In the middle of the movie all of them were pretty in to it, Rachel had laid down on the couch with her head in his lap, Sam had her feet in his lap and he kept rubbing them, what the fuck was that about? He wasn't jealous was he? He didn't actually know where to put his hands, should he touch her or should he keep his hands off? He wanted to stroke her hair but did friends really do that shit? So he just put his hand over the back of the couch. He so had feelings for her.

When the movie ended it was getting late and he had to go, he gave Rachel a hug and thanked her for inviting him and told her he would call her later and grabbed a cab home. It would be difficult to hang around her if she didn't have any feelings for him at all, since he had it bad. He would survive, he had his heart-broken before, in high school but still a heart-break is a heart-break, he hoped he didn't have to drown his sorrows, in ice cream of course.

:::: 

Over the next couple of weeks he hanged a lot with Rachel and the rest of the guys between the other things he had to do, Santana was getting ready for Brittany getting back to town and she wasn't quite as mean now, Artie had worked out a deal so Sam could be inn three off his movies, two music videos and one short film and Sam was thrilled about the idea since he had started getting bored with the modeling and wanted to try something else, Sam even managed to talk him, Blaine in to starting a band, it was still just talk since they couldn't decide on a name, he had suggested Puck and friends (awesome, and true) but the others wasn't as sold as him.

Hanging around Rachel made him fall even more in love with her, he tried to hide his feelings since he had no fucking clue what she was thinking and he wanted her to make the first move, he was thinking about her all the fucking time, sometimes he would even dream about her and he felt like a mess, Sam knew since he actually ha to talk to someone about it, so when Sam asked him he told him the truth and he promised not to tell.

Even if he'd never have her, he still hoped he would, he liked hanging out with her, and she was a good friend, they had started up the old coffee after meeting arrangement but now instead of after meetings they would meet up for coffee for lunch or even breakfast, so he spent a lot of time alone with her. He had been with her the hours before she had her audition two weeks ago and had tried to calm her down, she hadn't heard anything yet but the producers had told her it could take some time, she was sure she wouldn't get the role since her reputation was damaged, he told her they would be stupid not to hire her, he didn't know what musical it was or even what role she had auditioned for he was kinda curios so he had tried to get her to spill the beans a couple of times but she wouldn't tell him or anyone else, Blaine had even tried getting it out of her by naming all the show's he knew were auditioning but it didn't help them one bit. 

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It was late Friday night and he was home for once, just hanging out by himself since he had some reading to catch up on, when there was a loud knock on his door, he wasn't expecting anyone so he were confused when he went to open the door, his friends would usually text or call if they were coming over, when he opened the door he found a grinning Rachel outside,

"Rach?" he asked, confused since they didn't have plans and slightly worried since she seemed kinda hyper,

"I got it Noah" she said walking in to his apartment, he closed the door and turned to follow,

"You did?" he asked with a grin and went in to give her a hug, "I told you babe" he whispered in her ear,

"We have to celebrate" Rachel almost shouted and picked up something from the bag she carried, "Don't worry it's non alcoholic" she said and went to his cabinets to find some glasses, "I can't believe I got the part" she said pouring the drink into the glasses and giving him one, "It's not a main part of course, since I'm getting to old to play a sixteen year old girl but I have two songs"

"That's great" he said and took a sip and put the glass down, "what's the musical?" he asked,

"It's a new production so I'm not even sure if it will be a hit, but I'm still excited" Rachel said and sat down on his couch,

"Have you told the others?"

"I came straight here Noah, I wanted you to be the first to know" she gave him a smile,

"I'm honored" he said sitting down next to her, "so when do you start rehearsals?"

"In a month, but I will get the script next week, I'm gonna be on Broadway, again"

"I'm so happy for you" he said, leaning in and kissing her,

"Noah..." Rachel started to say when their lips met but she responded to the kiss,

"I love you" he said when he broke the kiss, "I just needed to say that"

"Kiss me again" Rachel said and looked him in the eyes, fuck who was he to say no? Before he knew they were in his bedroom in their underwear,

"Fuck, I might be bad at this" he muttered when they got into the bed,

"What?" she asked shocked,

"It's been two years, more, since I slept with someone" he told her, "and I don't have the moves I used to" he said, Rachel looked at his scarred leg and gave him a smile,

"I'm sure you will be wonderful Noah" she kissed him, "Protection"

"Fuck, fuck" he muttered, "I'll go to the store down the corner babe, just don't go anywhere"

"Don't be stupid, I have condoms in my purse"

"You planned this?" he asked when she got out of bed,

"I only hoped" she winked back.

::: 

Later he laid there with Rachel in his arms, tired but happy,

"What does this mean?" he asked kissing her shoulder,

"This mean we'll give dating a try Noah" he smiled and gave her a kiss,

"Really?"

"You are my unintended" Rachel whispered against his lips before kissing him again.

:::: 

The next morning he watched Rachel sleep and he had this happy feeling inside, like he wanted to run down the streets screaming happy, only he couldn't really run but you get the drift, he didn't wanna wake her up because she looked so peaceful so he just laid there staring,

"Stop staring" she mumbled with her eyes closed,

"Can't help it" he whispered in her ear and she smiled, he could hear her stomach growl, "stay here babe, gonna make you breakfast in bed and then we'll celebrate some more" he smirked and stood up pulling on some sweats,

"let's just celebrate" Rachel told him opening her eyes looking at him,  
"As much as I want to do just that, we need food"

::::

It was evening when the real world come barging in, or more like their friends banging on his door, when he opened the door Sam, Santana, Blaine and Artie came inside,

"You seen Rachel?" they all asked,

"Noah who was it?" Rachel said coming out from his bedroom in one of his t-shirts, "Oh hey guys"

"So I guessed you have seen her then" Blaine said sitting down,

"I'm just gonna get some more clothes on" Rachel said going back to the bedroom,

"So how did that happen?" Blaine asked from the chair,

"Who cares, they totally did it" Santana said smirking, muttering something about smelling how awesome their sex had been.

"So guys I have some news, I told Noah last night, but I got the part"

"Congratulations" Artie said giving Rachel thumbs up,

"You guys totally celebrated for almost 24 hours" Santana said still smirking,

"You should have called us.." Sam said,

"They couldn't they were celebrating" Santana interrupted.

"I knew you would get it" Blaine said walking over and giving her a hug,

"Thanks" Rachel said and smiled,

"We should have a later dinner" Sam said, celebrate with the gang

"I think Puck and Rachel already celebrated" Santana told him,

"I would love to have dinner with you guys" Rachel said,  
"Yeah, it would be cool" he said, "just let me and Rachel get ready"

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AN:

I hope you liked this chapter, no real smut since I suck at that.

The next chapter is the last, an epilogue you might say.


	5. Chapter five

Disclaimer: I do not own Glee.

**Mending Broken Pieces**

Chapter 5

1 year later (epilogue) 

He was back in Lima, not because he failed in New York but because he was getting married again, and this time he would do anything right to not screw things up. They had decided on Lima since his mother and her fathers had begged them to, and they had talked about it. They would have a small service in a park and then have the wedding party at the hotel. His ma wasn't that happy about that, since he really wanted it to be in the temple but it wasn't what he and Rachel wanted, sure they were both Jewish and proud, they just wanted to keep it simple, but to keep his ma happy they had asked the Rabbi if he wanted to be there and help out arranging some of the Jewish wedding traditions.

They had already been in Lima for a week and the place felt different to him, when he walked around town some people would stop and look at him some surprised to find him sober, others waiting on him to fail, but unlike before he didn't fucking care.

:::

Most of their friends from the Glee club had agreed to come, even if he hadn't talked to them for years he was still happy they would be there. The New York crowd was a sure thing on arriving, but some of the others he hadn't been so sure about so when they accepted the invitation he had been happy. Even Mr Schue were coming, which were surprising, but he guessed the guy came more for Rachel's sake then his, or maybe it had helped when he had added a sincere apology for hitting him with a cane that time to the wedding invitation.

:::

The last year had been good, he had been happy and everything felt right for the first time in a long time. Dating Rachel was good, she was good and he loved every moment of that, he loved her. He had gotten his degree two months ago after a really intense period of exams and studying, Rachel had helped him through that and he owned her for everything, he even got a two month internship he just finished at a record studio who turned into a part-time job. He still managed Walt's store, but after the honeymoon he would have two jobs, he knew he had to choose one day but now he knew he could do both. Sam had actually been serious about starting the band and they had played together for almost eight months now, they had even recorded an album. They called the band SPB since they couldn't agree on anything else, a stupid name but whatever and Artie had agreed on making their first music video when the time came.

Rachel's show had been a success, it only ran for three months but after that she ended up being offered a movie role and a recording deal, she had agreed to both and had recorded her album, which had an Broadway-pop kinda sound and he loved it, the movie would start filming later this autumn, thank fuck it was being filmed in New York so she was still close to him.

::: 

They had been together for around seven months when he proposed, it wasn't planned at all, he didn't even have a ring, but she was helping him around the store (remember intense study period) and the question just came out.

****

Flashback –

_**He was watching Rachel organize some of the new guitars and putting on price tags, **_

"_**We should get married" he said and Rachel almost dropped one of the guitars, **_

"_**What?" she asked looking at him, **_

"_**Marry me" he said, she went quiet and just kept looking at him, shocked, "Forget it Rach, it was stupid" she was still quiet just looking at him, fuck did she get a stroke or something?**_

"_**Rachel? We don't have to, I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked" Rachel just looked at him with tears coming down her cheeks, "babe, don't break up with me, we don't have to get married"**_

"_**We don't even live together" she finally said,**_

"_**What?" he asked, "We can move in together right now babe, just don't break up with me"**_

"_**Okay" Rachel muttered, **_

"_**Okay to move in together?" he asked trying to figure this out, **_

"_**Yes, and I want to marry you"  
"You do?" Rachel had nodded her head, "thank fuck, I totally believed for a second you would dump my ass"**_

"_**Don't be stupid Noah" she said and went back to her task. **_

_**Two days later he took her out for dinner and put a ring on her finger, they moved in together three days after that. **_

_**End Flashback –**_

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They were having a per-wedding dinner a couple of days before the wedding with their closest friends and families and he had been asked to say a few words,

"So I'm not really got at this" he started, "finding the right words, just ask Rachel how I proposed" he said laughing, "I have screwed up a lot in my life, I'm sure ma has list somewhere but I will do my best to not screw this up" his ma nodded and some of the others laughed, "I have made some wrong choices but I have worked hard to get past that, and somewhere I must have done something right since Rachel agreed to marry me" he said looking down at Rachel who were smiling, "I wasn't expecting this when I moved to New York, I was there to change my life and I did, Lima never did any good to me and I would never been here if I stayed. The last two years have changed me, and the broken pieces have glued themselves back together" he smiled, "I never expected to fall in love, I sure as hell wasn't ready, but the biggest surprise what the woman I fell in love with, I have known Rachel for years and I would never have guessed that I someday would be marry one of my best friends, sure she has always been smoking hot, but somewhere between meeting up with her again on the street and the months we spent hanging out I fell in love and I didn't even realize I was doing just that" he could see the tears forming in Rachel's eyes, "she was a surprise, it came sneaking up on me and she became someone I could picture spending the rest of my life with, the one I love, my unintended" he ended the speech by leaning down and giving Rachel a kiss, "Thank you for choosing me" he whispered in her ear.

::::

After dinner they mingled with their friends and his ma was fucking beaming like he was the best son in the world, he sat down and talked some with his sister, who was pregnant again,

"I can't believe you're gonna have another kid" he said,

"Me neither, mom tried talking to me about using protection" she said sipping some water,

"And?"

"I told her it didn't always work" he laughed, "she loves the kids though"

"Yeah, even if their dad is an Atheist" he told her laughing, he noticed Rachel standing alone in a corner and excused himself and went over to her,

"babe" he said taking her arms around her, she hummed,

"in two days you will be my husband" she said,

"You wanna back out?" he asked smiling,

"No" she whispered, giving him a big smile, "but if someone had told me three years ago I would one day getting married to you I would have laughed at them"

"me to babe, funny how things turn out" Rachel nodded,

"You're speech was wonderful Noah" she said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"You are wonderful" he said pulling her closer,

"Noah stop it, we have to mingle" They walked back out to the others and talked some more with their friends.

::::: 

Waking up wet in sweat was not how he had planned waking up the day before the wedding, he had planned on a late morning having fun times with Rachel, but now a sudden panic had found him and he almost couldn't breath. He didn't know what had brought this one but he knew he had to get the fuck out of the bed, out from her room, out from the house. Walking away from Rachel's fathers house he walked down the street and after a while he found himself outside his old high school, he had to get back and talk to Rachel, he knew that she would be worried but he just needed some alone time right now, he wanted to marry her and he wasn't having second thoughts but what if she changed her mind, he knew she told him at the dinner that she still wanted this but what if, he walked up to the bleachers and sat down, closing his eyes and concentrating on the silence around him. 

"Everyone is out looking for you" a familiar voice said behind him, "Rachel is a mess"

"Fuck I need to call her" he said looking for his phone, fuck he forgot it at the house,

"So why did you sneak away?" Quinn asked sitting down next to him,

"I just took a walk, I didn't sneak away" he muttered,

"You could have left her a note"

"I know I just had a small panic attack" he told her, "just needed some fresh air"

"You have been gone for almost 9 hours"

"You're kidding? I only got here" he said trying to figure out how long he had been here,

"Why did you panic?" Quinn asked,

"What if she changes her mind Quinn? I don't think I could do that"

"She is not changing her mind Puck, you know that"

"What if I screw things up and she leaves me, I hate feeling so insecure"

"Relax okay, you still want to marry Rachel and she wants to marry you" Quinn told him laying her hand on his shoulder,

"I don't deserve her" he added

"That might be true" Quinn laughed, "But she thinks you do and that means something"

"I know, my head is all over the place, I'll be fine tomorrow when she's finally mine"

"I think that's the thing, you always wanted her but she was never yours" Quinn laughed,

"That's not true, I never thought about it"

"Oh come on Puck"

"Do you think he is mad, would be mad"

"If he was here we wouldn't be having this conversation" Quinn said and he knew she was right, a lot of things would have been different then, but this was reality he couldn't start to think about what might have happened, "Let's get you back to Rachel, and I think he is watching you guys, happy that you are making her happy" he gave Quinn a small smile and nodded standing up, Quinn found her phone and made a call, "Hey Kurt, object found, call off the search party and tell Rachel I'm taking him there"

:::: 

"Do not do that to me ever again, do you hear me Noah Puckerman" Rachel said hitting his chest, "I was so worried" more hitting before he took his arms around her just holding her against him, "I had started believing you had skipped town or worse was out there somewhere drunk"

"I'm sorry" he said taking his arms around her, "Didn't think I had been gone that long"

"What were you doing?" she asked him with teary eyes, fuck he hated that she had been this worried for him,

"Just needed some time alone, wedding panic, sat on the bleachers at McKinley for hours"

"Do you want to call off the wedding?" she asked taking a step back,

"What?" he asked shocked,

"If you are having doubts, I'll understand"

"Baby" he said walking up to here, "I have never been more sure of anything in my whole life, tomorrow you are gonna become my wife" he kissed her,

"okay lovebirds now that this mess is all sorted you have to go to your mother's house Puck" Kurt said running down the stairs, the dude had probably been eavesdropping, "Rachel are having dinner with the girls and the boys are already waiting for your arrival there, Hiram is driving you over" he nodded.

"HIRIAM GET YOUR BUTT IN HERE" Kurt shrieked and he almost jumped in surprise, Hiram came walking in to the room and opened the front door waiting for him,

"So I'll see you tomorrow babe, I'll miss you" he said leaning down and kissing her again,

"I will miss you too Noah" Rachel said when he was walking out the door, "and you better show up" she yelled after him, he laughed and nodded. 

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"I can't believe Kurt would bring a date to the wedding" Blaine groaned,

"He's bringing a girl" Sam said, "his friend from London"

"I can't believe Tina is pregnant" Mike added from the chair next to him,

"Why the fuck do you care Chang? You are fucking married" he said shaking his head, he and the guys were having a quiet night with pizza and video games to relax before the wedding tomorrow, it had turned in to a huge chick flick moment when all the guys, mostly Blaine, had started talking about their exes, "Can we stop talking about your exes now and relax before MY wedding? I'm not sure Annie would like me telling her that you were spending the night talking about your ex Chang" Mike got huge eyes and nodded, that dude was fucking whipped,

"Mercedes looked great didn't she" Sam interrupted,

"Oh fuck this, give me my phone back so I can call Rachel" he said looking from guy to guy,

"Ask her if Mercedes is single" Sam said not stopping him,

"No you can't" Artie said, the keeper of his phone, "you guys agreed to no contact before the wedding, and Rachel wouldn't even answer her phone since Santana has it" he groaned,

"Maybe we should focus on something else" Jake said, "and Sam Mercedes is dating a rapper, it's all over the gossip news"

::::: 

He woke up early the next morning, he had never been this nervous and excited for anything in his whole life, the guys had all went home early last night expect Sam who was his best-man who was staying there, he went downstairs and found his ma sitting in the living room,

"This is the day Noah" she said smiling at him, "are you nervous"

"Yeah a little" he told here,

"Just sit down, I have already sent Sam out to get your suit so he should be back soon, I also made an order of flowers to be delivered for Rachel, from you of course"

"Oh, thanks" he said,

"Let us take care of everything and you just focus on getting married"

"Okay ma, everything is sorted right?"

"Yes of course, I am going over to the hotel later to check that everything is ready for the wedding dinner and that's that, now we just need to Sam to bring your suit and you are sorted, lay down and relax, it's still early"

"Don't think I can sleep ma" He said, "and I'm fucking hungry"

"Please Noah, language, and I know you guys aren't having a traditional Jewish wedding but I still think you should fast until the dinner tonight"

"You want me to pass out before I'm even married?"

"Oh Noah, you are not going to pass out" his mother said, damn he had to wait until she left then, he didn't want his stomach ruin the wedding by growling.

:::: 

"Sam, please let me have some fucking food, an apple or a banana just something"

"Your mother told me..."

"I don't give a fuck what my ma said right now, I need something in my stomach to keep it from growling"

"But"  
"Don't but me and bring me food" he screamed at Sam who looked worried,

"Fuck you are angry when hungry" Sam stated not making move,

"It's nothing compared to how angry Rachel is gonna be when my hunger ruins the wedding" he smirked when Sam went to the kitchen and came back with some cereal. 

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They were married, he watched Rachel while they had their dance. She looked beautiful in her dress, he had never seen someone look so beautiful in his life and she was his. His ma had cried through the wedding, and he might have shed a tear himself when he saw Rachel walking towards him, but who cared?

"Wife" he whispered in her ear and she beamed at him,

"Husband" she answered in a whisper and it did things to him,

"Can we leave?" they had a room for the night at the hotel and he had so many plans,

"Soon"

"How soon is soon?" he asked, Rachel smiled at him,

"Very soon" she whispered and he groaned, the wait would be torture.

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AN:

So that was the end, you can just think what they did when they left the wedding... I hope you liked this last chapter.

To be honest I am not too thrilled about this last chapter but since I have so much studying to do I can't keep on editing this story forever, need to catch up on some reading.


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